Articles by: William Nicholas Gomes

Dead Man Walking: One Poet’s Struggle for Freedom of Speech in Bangladesh

Dead Man Walking: One Poet’s Struggle for Freedom of Speech in Bangladesh

On the 26th of April 2023, Mohammad Mofijul Islam, the officer in charge of the Jatrabari police station of Dhaka Metropolitan Police in Bangladesh, recorded a general diary alleging that I, William Gomes, a freelance journalist and Bangladeshi living in the UK, committed a crime under Section 21 of the DSA. The general diary accused me of engaging in propaganda[Read More…]

by 04/05/2023 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Homes for Ukraine: A British welcome for refugees from Ukraine

Homes for Ukraine: A British welcome for refugees from Ukraine

I read and re-read Michael Gove’s official letter to civil society on Ukraine’s humanitarian crisis, detailing several facets of “Homes for Ukraine.” I’ve been hoping for a system that will eliminate contracts with profit-making organisations that currently house asylum seekers. I argue for a system that empowers communities, individuals, and non-profit organisations to take a more active role in the[Read More…]

by 18/03/2022 3 comments World
York the anti/RACIST City in the United Kingdom

York the anti/RACIST City in the United Kingdom

York is a cathedral city in northern England, located at the junction of the Ouse and Foss rivers. It is home to two universities as well as a burgeoning ethnic population. In 2021, the city council adopted an anonymous motion expressing the City’s intention of being an anti-racist city. There is much to say about the motion’s process, procedure, and[Read More…]

by 28/12/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Political representation of ethnic minorities in York’s political parties

Political representation of ethnic minorities in York’s political parties

The term ‘ethnicity’ carries a broad range of connotations. It is highly subjective and typically self-reported, and different organisations use different terms to describe ethnicity. I self-identify as a British Bangladeshi and a Catholic Christian. I’ve had the opportunity to observe how ethnic minorities are represented politically inside the York Labour Party. York Labour has a considerable and growing ethnic[Read More…]

by 23/10/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Displaced Afghans from the northern provinces are evacuated from a makeshift IDP camp in Share-e-Naw park to various mosques and schools on August 12, 2021 in Kabul, Afghanistan. People displaced by the Taliban advancing are flooding into the Kabul capital to escape the Taliban takeover of their provinces. (Photo: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

A new model of refugee housing is needed for better integration

As York prepares to welcome Afghan refugees, housing is becoming a critical issue. It is not that York lacks rental housing, but rather that it lacks affordable housing, a particular problem for people who will likely have left their country with nothing. This article seeks to offer an alternative solution and to investigate ways and means of welcoming more refugees[Read More…]

by 22/09/2021 Comments are Disabled World
How will the UK’s Nationality and Borders Bill affect migration across the English Channel?

How will the UK’s Nationality and Borders Bill affect migration across the English Channel?

For various reasons, marginalised people like myself and vulnerable asylum seekers arriving by boat to UK shores are rarely heard from. Nevertheless, we have a lot to say to you. The UK government’s proposed Nationality and Borders Bill is politically expedient, not principled. I attempt to put myself in the shoes of those desperate asylum seekers who put their life[Read More…]

by 20/08/2021 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Hold All Those Responsible For Stan Swamy’s Death Accountable

Hold All Those Responsible For Stan Swamy’s Death Accountable

Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest, and human rights advocate died in custody Monday at the age of 84 after 270 days of arbitrary confinement. Despite his precarious health condition, advanced age, and positive Covid-19 test, the authorities consistently denied him parole and necessary treatment. I urge an unbiased and transparent investigation into Mr. Swamy’s death in order to hold all[Read More…]

by 06/07/2021 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Crackdown on human rights defenders in India

Crackdown on human rights defenders in India

To Hon’ble Justice (Retd.) H.L. Dattu Chairperson National Human Rights Commission of India New Delhi Email: chairnhrc@nic.in   Cc Mr C. S. Mawri Assistant Registrar and Focal Point on Human Rights Defenders National Human Rights Commission of India New Delhi Email: hrd-nhrc@nic.in   Re: Request to raise serious concerns over the ongoing crackdown on human rights defenders in India Dear Justice (Retd.) Dattu,[Read More…]

by 27/11/2020 1 comment Human Rights
 Release Father Stan Swamy

 Release Father Stan Swamy

Dear Rachael Maskell MP,  I am William Nicholas Gomes; I am your constituent and a human rights activist and freelance journalist. I am writing about the Indian Jesuit priest and human rights defender, Fr Stan Swamy SJ, who has been taken into custody by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) of India for alleged Maoist links. Fr Stan is 83 years old[Read More…]

by 17/10/2020 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Release  imprisoned human rights defenders amid COVID-19 outbreak

Release  imprisoned human rights defenders amid COVID-19 outbreak

Mr Amit Shah Union Home Minister of India Ministry of Home Affairs Government of India   Dear Home Minister, I am William Nicholas Gomes, a British Human rights activist and freelance journalist. I am writing to share my great concern regarding the situation of student activists Safoora Zargar, who is four months pregnant, Meeran Haider,  Shifa-Ur-Rehman and Sharjeel Imam,  all[Read More…]

by 27/05/2020 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Give refugees temporary leave to remain during Covid-19 crisis

Give refugees temporary leave to remain during Covid-19 crisis

Rt. Hon. Boris Johnson Prime Minister 10 Downing Street London SW1A 2AA Dear Prime Minister, I hope that your recovery continues apace and that you will soon be back to full health. I write to you in supporting refugees, asylum seekers and migrants to ask you to grant a period of leave to remain, with recourse to public funds and[Read More…]

by 03/05/2020 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
India: Letter to Finance Minister on proposed amendments in IT Act

India: Letter to Finance Minister on proposed amendments in IT Act

The Finance Minister Ministry of Finance Government of India New Delhi 110001 Dear Nirmala Sitharaman, I am writing this letter to seek an appointment to submit a representation on some of the clauses of the Finance Bill, 2020 which will adversely affect the not-for-profit sector and as a result weaken the work on poverty alleviation and other charitable causes. Firstly[Read More…]

by 19/02/2020 Comments are Disabled India
India: Citizenship Bill Discriminates Against Muslims

India: Citizenship Bill Discriminates Against Muslims

To the attention of Prof. Fernand de Varennes Special Rapporteur on minority issues Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Palais des Nations CH-1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland CC: Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief   Re: India: Citizenship Bill Discriminates Against Muslims Dear Prof.Fernand de Varennes:  I am William Nicholas Gomes, a British Human Rights Activist and[Read More…]

by 26/12/2019 Comments are Disabled India
Open Letter To New Zealand Prime Minister

Open Letter To New Zealand Prime Minister

Rt. Hon. Jacinda Ardern Prime Minister PO Box 18888 Parliament Buildings Wellington NEW ZEALAND Dear Madam Prime Minister, I’m William Gomes, Human rights defender and Freelance journalist based in York, United Kingdom. Like many other British round, the country, I had been appalled to wake up to news of the terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, that[Read More…]

by 17/03/2019 2 comments World
Where Is Mugilan?

Where Is Mugilan?

The Chairperson National Human Rights Commission Manav Adhikar Bhawan Block-C, GPO Complex, INA New Delhi- 110023 Dear Chairperson,  I am William Gomes, Human rights defender and Freelance journalist. According to the information received from  Front Line Defenders, as of 4 March 2019, human rights defender Shanmugam Thangasamy, better known as RS Mugilan, remains missing. On 15 February 2019, RS Mugilan[Read More…]

by 09/03/2019 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
India: Drop the charges against human rights defenders

India: Drop the charges against human rights defenders

I am writing to voice my deep concern about the the arrests of Sudha Bharadwaj, Gautam Navlakha, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira and Varavaa Rao, as I strongly believe that they are directly linked to their peaceful and legitimate work in defence of human rights.

by 01/09/2018 1 comment Human Rights
Release Shahidul Alam immediately from arbitrary detention

Release Shahidul Alam immediately from arbitrary detention

According to the information received, on August 5, 2018 at around 10.30 pm, Mr. Shahidul Alam was forcibly taken from his house in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, by a group of men in plain clothes, who identified themselves as officers of the Detective Branch (DB) of the Police. Mr. Shahidul Alam’s house was searched and all the CCTV cameras were destroyed.

by 09/08/2018 2 comments Human Rights
Anti-Coal Power Plant Activist Threatened With Death In Banlgadesh: Ensure Safety Of Anu Muhammad

Anti-Coal Power Plant Activist Threatened With Death In Banlgadesh: Ensure Safety Of Anu Muhammad

On 13 October 2016, Anu Muhammad received two messages on his phone from the same number. The first one was sent at approximately 1 am and stated “Death keeps no calendar, and Ansatullah knows no time!”. The second one was sent at 8.43 pm, when he was on his way to Rampura police station to file a complaint about the first threat. It said “Say ‘yes’ to Rampal, otherwise, you must will be hacked to death incredibly by us!”.

Political Responses And Interventions To Dhaka café Terror attack: A critical perspective

Political Responses And Interventions To Dhaka café Terror attack: A critical perspective

  The article will critically examine and explore the recent Dhaka café terror attack. It will specifically examine the role of the law enforcement agencies in handling the crisis and will question the effectiveness and appropriateness of law enforcers’ interventions. In addressing this issue, the key focus will remain whether the human rights of victims and perpetrators were respected (Masferrer[Read More…]

by 12/07/2016 Comments are Disabled South Asia